


The Secret Bazaar

by Ghost_Chan



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Explorers of Darkness & Explorers of Sky
Genre: Drabble, Gen, The Inn Between Worlds, a place where past future and present meet, cameos from different games, secret bazaar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:22:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24432781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_Chan/pseuds/Ghost_Chan
Summary: Stepping into the warm, dry air, you pause.Breathe in.Breathe out.Something in your heart stirs.You feel like you've been here before.
Kudos: 14





	The Secret Bazaar

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [reviver](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16946214) by [Cinnonym](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinnonym/pseuds/Cinnonym). 



> Was inspired by [the Inn Between the Worlds](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InnBetweenTheWorlds) to write this.  
> The secret bazaar was always so mysterious to me. What if it could cross through time, and you were able to meet explorers of different eras, even some that you know/will know? Sounds exciting, doesn't it?  
> May have a companion in the future.

Stepping into the warm, dry air, you pause.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Something in your heart stirs.

You feel like you’ve been here before.

Perhaps you have, or perhaps this is one of those places that has something familiar about it. Something, like how a smell can take you back to your childhood home, or how a song reminds you of a friend from long ago.

There is something about this place that tugs at your heart.

Perhaps you were here in another life.

You laugh softly, because that would be impossible, wouldn’t it? Your guide, the one who came up to you upon your arrival, looks at you curiously, and you wave them off. It must be your imagination. _Right?_

Regardless, it’s a bright, cheery place, full of bright colors and sounds. There are four main merchants, but there are others beyond them. Against one wall, a spinda is pouring drinks, and nearby, a swanna and slurpuff are serving food. There are other merchants against the walls, but the shadows hide their faces for now.

And around you, figures move to and fro, speaking to the merchants. Currencies pass from paw to paw, some that you have seen, and some that you are certain you’ve never seen before. Around the cavern, all sorts of pokémon are resting on rugs, some with drinks, others talking with those around them. Some are slumped on the rugs, looking worn down, while others glance back and forth, appearing ready to move on.

Almost everything possesses a certain...quality to it. Something...something you can’t quite place.

The figures that pass by you look solid enough, but their afterimages seem to blur, like they aren’t fully there. The pokémon on the rugs seem normal at first glance, but on a second glance, they waver, like mirages in a dry land. The merchants smile if you approach them, though their eyes gleam, almost as if they’re hiding secrets. The whole cavern is bright, almost dreamlike. _Is it just a dream?_

Some of the figures here look like they should belong on an outlaw flyer, others look like they would be hunting down the formerly mentioned outlaws. Some look like pokémon you know, but younger, with a brighter gleam in their eyes. Some faces look like pokemon you know, but older, with more self-assurance in their movements. Some are so familiar, you can almost put a name to them, but it slips out of your grasp. Some faces stir something in your heart, but nothing in your head. And some faces are alien, meaning nothing to you.

_What is this place?_

Your guide laughs when you ask, but it’s not a malicious laugh. It’s a happy laugh, as if they’re pleased to have been asked.

“This is the Secret Bazaar. A place for explorers to rest and regather themselves.”

_That’s all it is?_

“That’s all it is. Although,” your guide looks over the place, at those present, “it started out small, with only the occasional passer-by. More visited, leaving something of themselves, and it gained a life of it’s own.”

 _Leaving something of themselves?_ That sounds ominous. A shiver passes over your spine, despite the warm air.

“If you love something, it gains life. The same is true of the Secret Bazaar. Many who pass through were delighted to find this place, for they were worn and weary. Many who pass through are glad for a moment to reorient themselves from their journeys.”

_So this spot...?_

“Is a “hub level.” A “place of truces.” All those who have come, will come, and are here, leave a bit of knowledge, a bit of affection, a bit of will, gifting it life. There are no associations here. There are no criminals, no outcasts, no leaders, no hunters. There are only explorers here, and all are welcome.”

These words, though strange, resonate within you, and your unease settles away.

_Maybe...you have been here before..._

...

Perhaps you decide to explore this place, to request a service or two, to purchase some food and sit down with some of the pokémon on the rugs. You talk, exchanging stories and sharing laughs. You trade tips and perhaps learn something you didn’t know before. All here love to explore, and you are surrounded by like-folk. You eventually need to leave and go on your way, to return home.

Or perhaps you have no reason to stay, and simply pass through, continuing on for your explorations.

Whichever you choose, you clear the dungeon, complete your jobs, and the day ends.

...

...

But no matter what, you do not forget the bazaar. You go about your life and your explorations, but you wonder about it. You wonder about the figures you saw, the shopkeepers who serviced you, the guide who greeted you.

Eventually, you return to the dungeon where stairs appeared in a puff of dust, and clear all the levels, checking every tile for a hidden entrance like the one you stumbled on that day.

Nothing.

You return the next day, but with the same result. The stairs that had appeared in front of you have disappeared completely. You try again, and again, but nothing.

You wonder, was it really there? Was it just a dream? Was it something you imagined from your weariness? From the stress of trying to clear the dungeon?

It does seem like a dream. With the bright lights, warm air, and comforting scents floating around, it didn’t seem real.

It seems...that it was just a dream.

_Right?_

...

...

And then, as you are exploring a random dungeon, a set of stairs appears under you again.

The choice is yours.

**Do you wish to proceed?**

**Proceed Do Not**


End file.
